By Billie Eder
Mitch Wishnowsky, the regular punter for the San Francisco 49ers, became the first Australian to kick a field goal in the NFL after getting the call-up to replace injured place kicker Jake Moody on the weekend.
San Francisco 49ers punter Mitch Wishnowsky.Credit: AP
It was an impressive achievement by Wishnowksy, who had to fill in for Moody after he suffered a high ankle sprain attempting to tackle Arizona’s kick returner.
Wishnowsky nailed the kick, but the 49ers still lost 24-23 to the Arizona Cardinals.
The 32-year-old, on a $16 million contract with the 49ers, had already carved out a slice of sporting history in 2022 when he became the first Australian to score a point in the NFL when he kicked two points after touchdowns (each worth one point).
With Wishnowsky’s achievement of the first field goal, here’s some other Australian first-point scorers on the international stage.
NBA
Luc Longley made history when he debuted for the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 30, 1992 against the Dallas Mavericks.
His debut marked the first time an Australian had ever been drafted and played in the NBA, when he was picked seventh overall in the first round of the 1991 draft.
Longley quickly added another accolade by scoring his first points in his second game against the Phoenix Suns three days later, making him the first Australian to do so.
Luc Longley and Michael Jordan in 1997.Credit: Reuters
Not only was Longley Australia’s first NBA star, he was also part of the Chicago Bulls dynasty alongside Michael Jordan who won three NBA championships from 1996-1998, making him the first Australian to win an NBA championship.
When Longley retired with the New York Knicks at the end of the 2000-2001 season, he had played 567 NBA games and scored 4090 points.
MLB
Since professional baseball started in the US in 1876 (firstly the National League and then the American League before Major League Baseball came into being), there have been 38 Australians who have played at least one MLB game.
Joe Quinn was the first Australian back in 1884 when he debuted for the St. Louis Maroons on 26 April and hit the country’s first home run during the 1886 season.
It was almost 85 years before another Aussie made it into the big league. That guy was Craig Shipley, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But it was Geelong-born Graeme Lloyd who was Australia’s first World Series Champion after he won the 1996 and 1998 season with the New York Yankees.
Australian pitcher Graeme Lloyd.Credit: 2004
Earlier this year, Travis Bazzana became the first Australian to be picked as a No.1 overall draft in Major League Baseball, signing a multimillion-dollar contract with the Cleveland Guardians.
Formula 1
Known as one of the most exclusive sports in the world, Australian Jack Brabham was the first Australian to have a points finish in Formula 1 after he finished fourth at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix.
Three times F1 World Champion Jack Brabham, pictured during the 1967 German Grand Prix.Credit:
It was his first and only points finish for the season, and his first since joining the grid in 1955, but Brabham went on to become one of Australia’s most successful Formula 1 athletes.
Brabham ticked off a bunch of other firsts, including being the first Australian to have a podium finish, the first to land a pole position, the first Australian race winner, and the first Australian world champion when he won in 1959. Brabham later went on to win the world championship in 1960 and 1966 before retiring from the sport at the end of the 1970 season.
Premier League
The first Australian to score a Premier League goal (as opposed to the days of the English first division) is a bit of a murky area.
Mainly because the first Australian to do it – Tony Dorigo – ended up putting his hand up to play for England at an international level rather than Australia.
But Dorigo was born in Melbourne and raised in Adelaide before a four-day trial with Aston Villa when he was 15 landed him a contract in the big league.
Dorigo was playing for Leeds United when the Football League First Division changed over to the Premier League, with 33 appearances and one goal for Leeds in the inaugural 1992-93 season.
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